Melody
by Cari-Chan The Otaku
Summary: Lost in a strange and magical world, little Alfred tries to get a mysterious person to help him get back to his own world. However, the strange being only talks through music from his violin. Aluox's Music!AU


**A/N: Just something quick that I wrote up because I could.**

**Thank you for reading this fic! It's nice to know that people appreciate my writing XD**

**This was inspired by aluox's Music!AU. The summary is also borrowed from her because I fail a summaries. Anyway, here is her tumblr (just remove the spaces):**** aluox. tumblr. com**

******Seriously, check her out. Her art is amazing :D**

**Kind of a human AU (I think?). I don't quite know everything about her AU, so this is all that I wrote. I have more notes at the end.**

**Disclaimer: Cari-Chan does not own Hetalia, Music!MA, or any of its characters/character designs (though I wish I did). Cari-Chan makes no profit off of this story.**

**Warnings: Um, I actually can't think of anything. Failed fluff, maybe? I'm still keeping it rated T. Just in case.**

**I hope that you enjoy reading this!**

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Alfred was lost.

Yes, he admitted it. He didn't know where he was. He, the hero, was lost. It was shocking! Impossible! Astounding!

… No? Well then. Anyway, he was lost. He had been wandering through this forest for god knows how long and he had no ideas as to how he was going to get home.

It wasn't like he had been careless, though. He had just gone outside to play in the forest behind his house. He had been tired so he decided to take a break. Just a quick one! He just closed his eyes for a second — a _second_ — and when he had woken up, everything was… weird.

It's not like the trees were blue or the sky was rainbow colored or anything weird like. Things were just weird, they were different. The trees were taller and the foliage was a lot thicker. And the sun seemed lower in the sky. Had he really slept for that long? He could have sworn that it was only a minute…

From there, the young boy had tried to retrace his steps back to his house. Unfortunately, Alfred had never been good with remembering. Or directions. These two things combined with the fact that he couldn't recognize anything proved to be awful partners in crime.

So yeah, he was lost. But it wasn't his fault! It was the forest's because it had changed on him, the hero. And it was his eyes' fault for making him tired! And…

Oh, who was he kidding? Blaming the plants and his eyes would do nothing to help him. If he could just find one other person then he could at least get them to help and find his parents.

Alfred gave a wide yawn before he cut himself off in the middle of it. Now was not the time to sleep. The last time he had done it, which was about an hour ago, he got lost in this weird forest.

The sun had dipped even lower into the sky, casting a pink hue to everything around him. He needed to find someone before it was night. If he didn't…

Well, he didn't want to think about that just yet.

Then he heard it. A faint string of notes.

Now, Alfred had never really been one for music. His parents had tried to teach him about every instrument in the world so that he could learn about "class" and "refinery", both of which were stupid. Then he had to sit though concerts and dances where snobs would play with their noses stuck up into the air, more worried about their appearance than the actual music. All in all, Alfred was not fond of music even though he was forced to learn a good deal about it.

But this song was beautiful. Even Alfred had to acknowledge that. The melody was sweet and smooth, enrapturing the boy and nearly compelling him to sway or waltz or something equally as silly.

That's when the gears in Alfred's mind started to turn. He was listening to music. Music that was coming from an instrument. An instrument that someone needed to play. That meant that there was a person. If he followed the sound then he would find this person and they would help him.

Alfred was a genius!

Without any hesitation, Alfred took off, trying his best to pinpoint where the wonderful tune that sang from his soon to be savior's musical performance. He didn't stop to consider the what ifs or what would happen afterwards. He just knew that he needed to find this player.

Branches whipped into his face and brambles tugged at his legs, but Alfred hardly noticed. He was so focused on the melody that the world around him seemed to blur, seemingly meaningless compared to the glory of this song.

Only when Alfred tripped over a stump of wood and took a nasty fall did he realize that he was far too obsessed with this song. It scared him that he had been so easily entranced by a simple arrangement of notes. This wasn't like him. A hero shouldn't have been so easily distracted! And yet…

Alfred shook his head as he regained his footing, trying to physically clear his thoughts. He didn't have time to dwell on things like this. What was important was finding where the music was coming from. Even if it could render him to a state of near disorientation. It was still his best shot.

Much less frantically and a lot more wary, Alfred picked up a quick jogging pace, following the harmony as it continued to play. It was louder than it had been originally, which was a good sign. Or a bad one, depending on the person that was playing.

Reality finally hit Alfred when he approached the edge of a clearing, the music sounding louder and clearer than it ever had. He didn't know who this person was. They could be really mean and not help him or they could ignore them or they could be evil or…

Or they could be a monster.

Alfred gulped nervously and went down onto his hands and knees. He slowly crawled towards the brush that surrounded the small clearing, trying to get a better look at what he was up against. Who cared if he got his clothes dirty? If this person or thing looked bad, then Alfred would get away as fast as he could. He would rather sleep in some forest than get killed.

When Alfred finally managed to see just what was in the clearing, he felt the tension flow out of his body. It was a person playing the violin. If he thought about it, Alfred realized that a monster playing an instrument was just silly. A monster wouldn't care about music or class.

As he kept looking, though, Alfred noticed a few odd things. This guy was dressed in really nice clothes, far too nice for him to be playing in the middle of nowhere. He had a double tailed coat with one of those strange poufy things that Alfred couldn't remember the name of coming out of the top. The top hat that was perched on his blond hair had a few flowers on it. He wore boots that had a heel to them. What man wore heels? And what was up with those super thick eyebrows? So weird. Then he had this bizarre cloth mask thing that covered his face and neck from the nose down. Why would anyone wear that? Another oddity was his ears. They were long and pointy looking, something that Alfred had ever seen. Seriously, what was up with this guy?

_Well,_ Alfred thought as he took another nervous gulp, _he doesn't look that bad, just different. It's not like I have any other ways to get home…_

His mind made up, Alfred straightened up from the shrubs that he had been cowering in and began to walk towards the man playing the violin. The musician didn't seem to notice him, his eyes closed and hands deftly readjusting to move the bow over the strings or hold his fingers down to get the notes he desired. Alfred, inexperienced as he was, could tell that this man was really, _really_ good.

Almost reluctant to disturb the player, Alfred hesitated before he tried to get the man's attention. However, it had to be done.

"Hey," Alfred said in an unusually small voice, "can you help me?"

The man continued to play, still unaware of Alfred's presence. That or he was just ignoring him.

"Hey," Alfred repeated, louder and more confident this time, "I asked if you could help me!"

Abruptly, the sweet melody that had been filling the air ceased. Alfred found himself being stared at by a pair of bright green eyes. Silence lingered between the two of them.

"Um…" Alfred, oddly enough, was at a loss for words. Was this guy just going to keep looking at him? It was kind of creeping him out. "Hi?"

The violinist blinked owlishly before he raised his right hand, the one with the bow in it, and gave Alfred a small wave. Okay, that was kind of weird.

"Can… can you help me?" Alfred questioned again. It felt strange repeating the same thing over and over again.

The stranger cocked his head to the side, the "_why?_" visible in his eyes. He then positioned his violin under his chin and played a short series of notes, starting low then reaching a higher pitch quickly.

Alfred furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you playing your violin? You're great but I just want you to help me."

Again, the man repeated the series of notes he had just played, his expression growing even more confused.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Alfred was starting to get a freaked out. Only a little bit, because he was a brave hero, but this guy was getting creepy pretty fast. Why wasn't he talking?

Now the musician just seemed dumbfounded, letting his arms drop to his sides.

"Please?" Alfred hated begging but it was the only thing that he could think of. He shuffled over to the man, staring at his own feet the entire time. "You have to help me. I… I got lost and I don't know where I am and… I just wanna go home. Can you help me? Please?"

The stranger's eyes softened. Although the confusion still remained, he appeared to have newfound warmth about him.

Cautiously, the musician placed his bow on the rock he was sitting on and reached out to place his hand on Alfred's head. He started to pet the boy slightly, trying to get Alfred to calm down.

"Hm…" Alfred didn't like being treated like a child. He was thirteen, practically a grown up! Yet he couldn't help but welcome the gesture.

The stranger suddenly stood up, taking his hand away from Alfred and gently placed his violin in a wooden case that Alfred hadn't noticed before. Snapping the case shut, the man straightened up again, case in hand, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Alfred started to panic as the musician started to leave. On impulse, he ran after him and clung to the case, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He didn't want to be all alone. Even this peculiar guy would be fine. "You have to help me! I don't know what else to do!"

The man had stopped walking when Alfred had grabbed onto his case and was now looking at the boy with sorrowful eyes. Oh no. He wasn't going to leave, was he? Alfred didn't want to be left in the forest with the dark and the monsters and —

The violinist petted Alfred's head in the same manner as he had before, trying to comfort the boy. He took out his violin again, playing a tune that Alfred could only describe as regretful. Alfred's eyes widened as he felt something click.

"You can't talk, can you?" Alfred asked, even though he already knew the answer. "Is that why you keep playing your violin?"

The man's eyes seemed to light up and he played a merry tune, nodding his head slightly as he did so.

"I'm guessing that's a yes," Alfred couldn't help but smile when he got the same response. At part of the mystery was solved. The man was using his violin as a way to speak instead of his voice. That was actually pretty cool.

"So, uh," Alfred's smile turned more sheepish, "do you think that I could stay with you for the night? I'm lost and I don't know which way home is and I really don't wanna be all alone in the forest at night."

The musician's eyes scrunched up around the edges and he played a slow, honeyed phrase, almost like he was laughing and agreeing at the same time.

"What's so funny?" Alfred narrowed his eyes and stuck his nose in the air.

An eerie tune came from the instrument and the man pointed at Alfred once he was done.

"You think that I'm scared?" Alfred asked after a moment. When the first merry melody met Alfred's ears, he puffed out his cheeks in a pout. "Jerk!"

The syrupy tune played again.

Alfred tried to be angry but it didn't quite work. The situation he was in right now, having a conversation with a man that talked through his violin, was so ridiculous that he couldn't help but laugh.

Once the two of them recovered enough, the musician placed his violin back in the case. This time before he started to walk away, he extended his left hand to Alfred, which the boy eagerly took.

"Thanks," Alfred mumbled. He was grateful for the help but he had always been uneasy with saying thank you.

The man just gave his hand a small squeeze, leading him to who knows where. But Alfred didn't really mind. This guy was really cool so he couldn't be evil. Maybe he was a hero, too!

After a relatively silent walk, Alfred could see a small wooden cabin nestled in a larger clearing than the one that his savior had been in. A tall oak tree loomed over it, providing shade for it. Not that is was necessary right now, though. The sky was considerably darker, the sun on the very brink of the horizon.

"Is this where you live?"

A nod and a squeeze to his hand were answer enough.

The musician opened the door and stood behind it, looking at Alfred expectantly. The boy blushed as he ducked into the man's home.

The inside was quite cozy, ornate rugs and paintings decorating the walls and floor. The furniture seemed comfortable yet regal. And anywhere Alfred turned there were sheets of music. They were on the table, the chairs, some were framed on the walls, and others were scattered onto the floor.

"Wow," Alfred took it all in, "you must really like music."

The violinist rubbed the back of heck with one hand and shrugged as he placed his violin case down onto a shorter table in front of the couch. He quickly gestured to the coach. Understanding the message, Alfred took a seat on it. He had been right about the furniture looking comfortable. The sofa was incredibly plush and soft.

The musician disappeared for all but a moment before he came back with a pillow and blanket in hand. He gave both of them to Alfred.

"Thanks," Alfred accepted the offerings, more eager to express his gratitude at the promise of a good night's sleep. He immediately curled up into the blanket, the warmth engulfing him.

The musician merely took his violin out of its case and sat on one of the chairs opposite of Alfred. He took a moment to tune it before he positioned his bow and began to play.

Instantly, Alfred felt sleepy. He had felt tired before so it seemed that all of it had finally caught up to him. And the way his savior was playing wasn't helping him stay awake. He could recognize the song to be akin to a lullaby but it was so much softer and serene.

As soon as Alfred's head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

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**A/N: The violinist is Arthur, just in case someone wasn't sure. I made it glaringly obvious, though /shot**

**Again, I don't own this AU and there are only three pictures that I've seen for it so I have no idea if this story is even relevant to aluox's original idea. If it isn't... well, I just made a fanfic for a fan made AU. Yeah, let's go with that.**

**Alfred looks like a kid in the pictures so I said that he was thirteen . No other reason. And Arthur looks like an adult if you were wondering.**

**Yes, Arthur talks through his violin. I don't why he can't talk. I might post a new chapter if I get more details. Maybe.**

**Why does the music have such an affect on Alfred? I'll give you one guess. It's pretty obvious. Don't over think it.**

**In any event, thank for reading! I hope that you liked it,**

**Please review, follow, and favorite!**


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